Taffy Sinclair 011 - Nobody Likes Taffy Sinclair Read Online Free PDF Page A

smile— " like spending time with you. It ' ll never happen, though. Now that the producers of Nobody Likes Tiffany Stafford are considering turning it into a weekly television series, my mother ' s more determined than ever. I don ' t know what she ' d do if they cast someone else in the part of Tiffany Stafford. " Cory stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. " Do you mean that you might go back to Hollywood? " he asked incredulously.
    Taffy didn ' t say anything for a moment. She hadn ' t wanted to tell Cory about that possibility, but it had slipped out. " Maybe, " she admitted, " but I really don ' t want to. Honest. It ' s my mother who wants it. She ' s devoting her whole life to making me a star. " Taffy hoped her voice sounded sincere. She hadn ' t lied to Cory. Not exactly, anyway. Part of her did want to stay here and be a real teenager. But even though she couldn ' t admit it to him, part of her loved the glamorous life in Hollywood and wanted to return.
    " If you ' re going to take lessons, why don ' t you take singing lessons? " suggested Cory. " Then you could take Kimm Taylor ' s place as singer for The Dreadful Alternatives. "
    " Replace Kimm? You ' ve got to be kidding, " said Taffy. " But then . . ." she mused, and lapsed into thought. Maybe that wouldn ' t be such a bad idea. Shawnie had said that the band was trying hard to make it big. If that happened, she wanted herself—not Kimm—to be in on the glory. Besides, it would serve Kimm right for trying to steal her best friend.
    " I ' m serious, " said Cory. " Talk to your mom. Tell her that you ' d rather be a singer. She ought to go for that, since you could still be a star. You don ' t have to mention The Dreadful Alternatives. "
    " I wouldn ' t dare ask her anything like that, " Taffy said with a laugh. " She ' d come totally unglued. "
    " What would your dad say? " Cory asked. " Would he be more sympathetic? "
    Taffy shook her head. " It wouldn ' t do any good if he was. He wasn ' t a Radio City Music Hall Rockette who gave up a career for marriage and a family. Mother considers herself the authority on show business, and she makes all those kinds of decisions. "
    Just as Taffy had predicted, Mrs. Sinclair sat idling the car at the bottom of the driveway. When she saw Taffy and Cory approaching, she jumped out and began waving.
    " Hurry, Taffy. Do you know what time it is? We ' re going to be late. "
    Taffy looked at Cory helplessly. " I have to go, " she whispered.
    Cory glanced quickly toward Mrs. Sinclair, who was ducking back into the car, and then pretended to cough. When he put his hand to his mouth, he kissed the tip of his index finger and brushed the finger across Taffy ' s cheek.
    " See you later, " he said softly.
    Taffy smiled and nodded as she got into her car. She touched the spot where Cory had left the kiss as she waved good-bye to him. He was so wonderful.
    Who knows about Raven Blaine? she thought. He seemed to care about me. But maybe he acts that way to every girl he meets.
    She sighed and thought about Cory again, closing her eyes and seeing them together on stage with The Dreadful Alternatives. Now, more than ever, she wanted to be a regular person, an ordinary seventh- grader at Wakeman Junior High, instead of a movie star. And maybe someday The Dreadful Alternatives, with her as their singer, would make it into the big time. Then she would be a star after all.
    " Taffy. Did you hear me? " asked her mother as she pulled into a parking space in front of a red brick building. " I asked if you ' ve memorized the scenes your class is going to work on today. "
    Taffy blinked away her daydreams. " I read them over a few times, " she offered.
    Mrs. Sinclair shook her head. " I certainly hope you don ' t embarrass yourself, " she scolded. " I ' d think the least you could do is memorize your scenes. Well, come on. "
    Why won ' t she leave me alone? Taffy wondered miserably as she followed her mother into the building and up the stairs.